The Dallas Morning News will host a conversation with Lindsay Whorton, an education nonprofit leader, about how to strengthen — and reimagine — leadership in Texas public schools.
The News’ Education Lab, a community-funded journalism initiative, will have K-12 reporter Silas Allen lead the virtual discussion on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
“What we want to do, as the Education Lab, is to connect with the community and to provide solutions to problems that are out there,” said Carol Taylor, education editor at The News.
Whorton heads the Holdsworth Center, an Austin-based nonprofit that seeks to improve the quality of Texas public schools by developing educational leaders. Charles Butt, chairman of H-E-B, founded the organization in 2017, and it now serves more than 1,900 leaders in Texas districts.
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Whorton holds a master’s degree in comparative social policy and a doctorate in social policy from Oxford University. She graduated from Drake University with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and English.
She authored A New School Leadership Architecture, which was published last year. The book reimagines the structuring of school leadership roles. The goal, she said in a statement, is to make these jobs sustainable and support educators.
In her book, she theorizes that the traditional hierarchy — principal, assistant principal and teacher — no longer meets evolving school needs. Instead, Whorton suggests a four-level leadership model to minimize inefficiency and increase collaboration.
“The success of any entity is based on effective leadership and effective training of employees,” Taylor said. “Teachers have a lot to deal with. There’s a lot on their plate.”
Click here to register for the event.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron and Phyllis Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.